Weapons of Math Destruction

Hear author and data scientist Cathy O'Neil speak on her globally acclaimed book Weapons of Math Destruction, in which she outlines how big data increases inequality and threatens democracy.

Algorithms determine our credit rating, our job prospects, our education, our spending habits and our justice system. We can’t see them or negotiate with them and most of us don’t understand how they work, but behind the scenes, these mathematical models are taking control of our lives and the nature of our society.

Cathy O’Neil is the first person to explore how Big Data is being used to discriminate against people based on income, race and class. As more and more of our lives are handled by computers, what can we do to stop ourselves falling victim to these unaccountable and under regulated systems.

Weapons of Math Destruction was Yuval Noah Harari's book of the year in 2016. He describes it as ‘a fascinating and deeply disturbing book’.

Tickets are free for members and £3 for non-members.

All proceeds from our cultural programme go to the Kibera Hamlets School in Nairobi, where Second Home has funded the construction of a new school building designed by our architects Selgas Cano.